Why cuddling with your cat can make you sick

According to a recent warning issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cuddling with your cat could prove to be fatal, causing brain swelling and heart infection. The disease is spread when you are scratched by an infected cat, or when you don’t wash your hands and touch your mouth after stroking an infected cat.

The study showed that in 12,000 claims of cat-scratch disease, 500 people had to be hospitalized and the number of those becoming seriously ill from the disease has jumped from 3.5 percent to 4.2 percent over a six-year period.

Keep enjoying those cute cat videos – they may be as close as you want to get to Fluffy for a while. “Cat-scratch is preventable. If we can identify the populations at risk and the patterns of disease, we can focus the prevention efforts”, he added. This is possible with many over-the-counter remedies, though some suggest a more natural method: giving cats a bath of vinegar, lemon juice or apple cider.

The disease can then be passed on to humans through a cat’s scratch, bite, saliva or by kissing their kitty.

Cat owners are now being warned to think twice when they cuddle their cat – and to always wash their hands after hugs and kisses with their fuzzy friend.

Rather interestingly, the large-scale report found that the dangers surrounding the disease are actually far more serious than they had previously thought. A person with CSD may also have a fever, headache, poor appetite, and exhaustion.

She said data collected in the study found that the highest rates of people infected by the disease were children from five to nine-years-old.

They also advised cat owners ensure their pet is protected from fleas.

Glatt was not involved in the study, but also mentioned to NPR that more people have suppressed immune systems today, which might attribute to the rise in serious cases.

Unfortunately, those adorable kittens are more likely to carry the bacteria than cats.